The Martian

The Martian (2015)

Timing: 2:21 (141 min)

7.694/10
21039

7.77/10
685704

8/10
1000000

All about film

Video 86

Photo 142

Actors and characters

Release date

2015-09-30

Country

United Kingdom, United States

Production

20th Century Fox, Genre Films, TSG Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, Scott Free Productions

Genre

Drama, Adventure, Science Fiction

Budget

$108 000 000

Revenue

$630 161 890

Website

https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/the-martian

Director

Ridley Scott

Actors

Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Chiwetel Ejiofor
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Ridley Scott, Mark Huffam, Simon Kinberg, Michael Schaefer, Aditya Sood, Drew Goddard

Operator

Dariusz Wolski

Composer

Harry Gregson-Williams

Artist

Matt Sims, Annamária Orosz, Shira Hockman

Audition

Nina Gold, Zsolt Csutak, Carmen Cuba

Editing

Pietro Scalia, Diala Al Raie
All team (721)

• According to Ridley Scott, all of Matt Damon's solo scenes were filmed over five consecutive weeks.
• The average atmospheric pressure on the surface of Mars is 600 Pascals, which is approximately 160 times less than Earth's pressure. It is so low that the strongest storm on Mars can only mess up your hair. Author Andy Weir admitted that this was his biggest inaccuracy in the novel. Due to the low density of the air, sound does not travel as easily on Mars as it does on Earth: for example, to be heard by a conversational partner, you would have to get close to them and shout at the top of your lungs.
• During the filming of the first take of the scene with Donald Glover, the actor accidentally fell. This take ended up in the final version of the film.
• At one point, screenwriter Drew Goddard could have become the director of the project, but instead, he decided to work on the film 'The Evil Six.' After that, Ridley Scott read the script and joined the project, postponing work on the sequel to 'Prometheus' (2012).
• The costumes used in the film had a real, functioning lighting system.
• Twenty different sets were built for the film, which isn't actually that many compared to Ridley Scott's previous films. There were 70 for "Exodus: Gods and Kings" (2014), and over 100 for "American Gangster" (2007).
• When designing the cosmonaut suits, the costume designer reviewed many real NASA spacesuits. They were all very bulky, which Ridley Scott didn't particularly like. As a result, the final costume design differed somewhat from real spacesuits, as it aimed for more convenient practical use.
• The title page of the film's script, with drawings by the director, went into space: it was placed in a special capsule aboard the Orion spacecraft, which completed a successful test flight on December 5, 2014.
• The Mars mission depicted in the film is an imitation of a real mission that NASA plans for the future.
• Irrfan Khan was originally slated to play Kapoor, but he was unable to participate in the project due to his commitment to the film "Piku" (2015). Ultimately, Chiwetel Ejiofor took on the role.
• Matt Damon plays a character named Mark Watney. 'Mark' is the English version of the Latin name 'Marcus,' which, according to one version, originated in honor of the god of war, Mars.
• The rocket technology in this film is based on real rockets with plasma engines designed and built by Ad Astra Rocket. This company was founded by former NASA astronaut and Costa Rican citizen Franklin Chang-Diaz.
• The events in the film begin on Sol 18, while in the book they begin on Sol 6.
• Andy Weir personally created the software to calculate the arrival time of the ship on Earth and Mars with minute accuracy.
• 'The Martian' had one of the most unusual pre-release screenings in history: journalists weren't the only ones to see it first, but also the astronauts at the space station, including the well-known astronaut Scott Kelly.
• Scientists at NASA inadvertently made a powerful promotional move for "The Martian." On September 28, 2015, they announced the discovery of periodic flows of liquid water on Mars.
• Actor Jeff Daniels, who played the NASA director, played one of the main roles in the film "My Favorite Martian."
• To film all stages of potato growth, a real potato farm was used, set up on the studio lot.
• In the scene where NASA makes first contact with Watney, he writes a profanity, after which he is warned to watch his language, as their correspondence is being broadcast to the world. The film doesn't show his subsequent response, only the reaction of people to it. However, in the book he replied: “Look! A pair of boobs! -> (.Y.)”.
• In addition to natural radiation, astronaut Watney is exposed to radiation from a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), which heats him during rover trips. RTGs convert the heat from the natural radioactive decay of plutonium-238 into electrical energy. On Curiosity, the RTG generates about 110 watts of electricity – roughly the same as a traditional incandescent light bulb. Calculations show that this is safe. NASA is confident that the natural radiation background (cosmic radiation) on the surface of Mars is stronger than the RTG, so the generator has almost no impact on overall radiation safety.
• During the scene where Mark Watney is sitting and looking at the Acidalia Planitia on Mars, living plants can be noticed in the background on the left.
• In the NASA press center, the American flag is placed to the left of the podium, which is a violation of the United States Code. It should be placed to the right of the podium.
• In one of the scenes where Watney is driving the rover, a contrail from an airplane can be seen in the sky.
• When Mark departs for the planned Ares IV landing site, he leaves his signature next to the calendar with the sols passed. When he returns for his spacesuit helmet, the signature looks different.
• In reality, the surface of Mars is not red in color, but gray, and is a rocky desert with no extensive plains or sand.
• The pressure inside a cosmonaut's spacesuit is the same as if a person were at an altitude of 5 kilometers above sea level. If there is an oxygen leak in the spacesuit, it is easily compensated for by the oxygen supply system. This is not enough to create jet propulsion through a small hole in the spacesuit.
• To move a certain mass from its place, even in a vacuum, requires a certain amount of thrust. A hole in a spacesuit simply won't create such thrust, no matter how much excess pressure there is inside the suit. But even setting reality aside and assuming that this did happen – Mark headed towards Hermes. At that rate of oxygen leakage, he would very quickly experience explosive decompression and die.
• If the atmosphere protects against radiation on Earth, then on Mars there is practically none. Upon landing on Mars, a person receives a dose of radiation 15 times higher than the permissible level for a nuclear power plant worker in a year. The film doesn't mention this, but at the time the events of the film take place – it is unknown (although the author of the book said it was in 2035): perhaps in the future, people will learn to cope with radiation.
• One kilogram of cargo launched into orbit requires enormous resources. Therefore, kilograms, volumes, cubic meters of air, food, clothing – all of this is very valuable on manned spacecraft. In the film, we see huge empty spaces on the spacecraft, corridors, gyms with earthly exercise equipment, incredibly large hatches. Such a ship design is impossible.
• The only way Watney could use a punctured glove to move in space is to position it with the hole facing away from his center of gravity (for example, he could attach the glove to his stomach so that the hole was facing forward, which would push him in the opposite direction). However, he could only move headfirst with his arms to the sides if he had punctured both gloves.
• The film is based on Andy Weir's novel "The Martian" (2011). The author initially did not plan to publish the book, but simply posted it on his blog. After readers began asking Weir to make the book available for download, he placed it on Amazon, setting the minimum price allowed at the time to 99 cents.
• Filming took place in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, also known as the Valley of the Moon. The film "Red Planet" (2000) was also filmed in this area.
• 20 different sets were built for the film, which is actually not that many compared to previous films by Ridley Scott. There were 70 in "Exodus: Gods and Kings" (2014), and over 100 in "American Gangster" (2007).
• Irfan Khan was originally slated to play the role of Kapur, but he was unable to participate in the project due to his commitment to the film "Piku" (2015). Ultimately, Chiwetel Ejiofor took on the role.
• The creation of this film utilized a significant amount of research and development from the film "Prometheus" (2012).
• In the book, Mark Watney holds two master's degrees – in botany and mechanical engineering. The film, however, only mentions his doctorate in botany.
• Matt Damon plays a character named Mark Watney. "Mark" is the English version of the Latin name "Marcus," which, according to one version, originated in honor of the god of war, Mars.
• "The Martian" had one of the most unusual pre-premiere screenings in history: journalists were not the only ones to see it first, but also the astronauts at the space station, including the renowned astronaut Scott Kelly.
• In the scene where NASA makes first contact with Watney, he writes a profanity and is then warned to watch his language, as their correspondence is being broadcast worldwide. The film doesn't show his subsequent response, only the reaction of the people to it. In the book, however, he replies: “Look! A pair of boobs! -> (.Y.)”
• In some shots, the pilot controls the Hermes spacecraft using a Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog joystick.